BRATISLAVA, July 30, (WEBNOVINY) — Prime Minister Robert Fico has called on each parliamentary opposition party to nominate its candidate for the top post in the Supreme Audit Office (NKU). The opposition however is not willing to comply with his request saying it will again field its joint candidate for the position, SaS’ nominee Kamil Krnac. The repeated vote in a secret ballot should be held on September 18. As Fico told the media after a meeting with opposition leaders earlier on Monday, the candidates should compete for the job before being elected by parliament.
In last week’s secret ballot in parliament, Krnac suffered a defeat when he not only did not get support from SMER-SD MPs but also some opposition lawmakers failed to raise their hands for him in spite of the fact that the opposition picked him as its joint candidate. “Let a competition take place among opposition candidates in parliament and then the best one will be elected as Supreme Audit Office chairman. But he will be a representative of an opposition party,” said Fico adding that his party is not interested in thwarting the NKU head election. “This post belongs to the opposition but as the opposition cannot submit a candidate and guarantee all votes for him, this will be the easiest way to get to the election of the NKU chairman,” Fico stated. “Therefore, we are proposing the fairest game. Each party of the opposition will give its candidate. If they do it I publicly declare that the new NKU head will be elected at the next parliamentary session. It means that SMER-SD votes will go to any of these candidates, Fico said. “I cannot make a fairer offer to the opposition,” said Fico.
The prime minister does not agree with the opposition’s suggestions to elect the future NKU chairman in an open vote and not a secret ballot. He says they are not going to adapt the parliament’s functioning and democratic norms to the fact that the opposition is unable to agree. “It must be a secret ballot,” stated Fico.
OLaNO head Igor Matovic however argues that SMER-SD originally pledged to accept a candidate chosen by the opposition. He did not say at that time that the opposition has to unanimously vote for this candidate, says the MP for the OLaNO. “Now the attitude is different,” he said. The opposition urged Fico to fulfill his original pledge and support the candidate on which they will agree.
SITA